Canadian–American author
William Novak (born 1948[1]) is a Canadian–American author who has co-written or ghostwritten numerous celebrity memoirs for people including Lee Iacocca, Nancy Reagan,[2] and Magic Johnson.[3] He is also the editor, with Moshe Waldoks, of The Big Book of Jewish Humor.[4] He has also written several "private" books, which he described in a 2015 essay for The New York Times.[5]
He is the father of actor and writer B. J. Novak and composer Jesse Novak. He is Jewish.[3][4]
Books
- High Culture: Marijuana in the Lives of Americans. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980, ISBN 9780394503950
- The Great American Man Shortage and Other Roadblocks to Romance (and What to Do About It). New York: Rawson Associates, 1983, ISBN 0892562307
- Lee A. Iacocca with William Novak, Iacocca: An Autobiography. New York: Bantam Books, 1984, ISBN 9780553050677
- Sydney Biddle Barrows with William Novak, Mayflower Madam: The Secret Life of Sydney Biddle Barrows, New York: Arbor House, 1986, ISBN 0877957223
- Herb Schmertz with William Novak. Good-Bye to the Low Profile: The Art of Creative Confrontation, Boston: Little, Brown, 1986, ISBN 0316773662
- Tip O'Neill with William Novak, Man of the House: The Life and Political Memoirs of Speaker Tip O'Neill, New York: Random House, 1987, ISBN 0394552016
- Nancy Reagan with William Novak, My Turn: The Memoirs of Nancy Reagan. New York: Random House, 1989, ISBN 0394563689
- Earvin "Magic" Johnson with William Novak, My Life, New York: Random House, 1992, ISBN 0679415696
- Oliver L. North with William Novak, Under Fire: An American Story, New York: HarperCollins, ISBN 0060183349
- Claire Sylvia with William Novak, A Change of Heart: A Memoir, Boston: Little, Brown, 1997, ISBN 0316821497
- An Incredible Dream: Ralph Roberts and the Story of Comcast. Philadelphia: Comcast Corporation, 2012, ISBN 9781451675351
- Max Kargman with William Novak, The Education of Max Kargman, Boston: Foundation Books, 2003.
- Susan Whitman Helfgot with William Novak, The Match: Complete Strangers, A Miracle Face Transplant, Two Lives Transformed, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010, ISBN 9781439195482
As editor
- William Novak and Moshe Waldoks, The Big Book of Jewish Humor. New York: Harper & Row, 1981, ISBN 9780060148942
- William Novak and Moshe Waldoks with Donald Altschiller, The Big Book of New American Humor: The Best of the Past 25 Years. New York: HarperPerennial, 1990, ISBN 9780060965518
- Die Laughing: Killer Jokes for Newly Old Folks, New York: Touchstone, 2016, ISBN 9781501150791
References
- ^ "William Novak". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ^ "Ghostwriter von Nancy Reagan – Business And Science" (in German). Retrieved September 20, 2016.
- ^ a b Getlin, Josh (September 17, 1992). "Ghost to the Stars : William Novak Is the Invisible Writer Behind Memoirs by Lee Iacocca, Nancy Reagan and—Soon—Magic Johnson". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ^ a b Heilman, Uriel (November 19, 2006). "Jewish joke book turns 25". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ^ Novak, William (July 11, 2015). "Writing Books Very Few Will Read". Retrieved June 11, 2016.
